Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Reading Woes - Why M/M Romance - Last days of the Giveaway

Reread: Fantasy+

I've been rereading a lot here lately because I cannot tell you how many times I have picked up a book, read to 15-20% in then put it away. I'm either not in the mood, the story didn't catch me, in a few cases it was because of terrible editing (which normally I can ignore). Lately, I have found that any hint of dub-con or forced-con and I immediately put it down. I used to be able to read them as long as there was a plausible resolution and HEA. Now, just a whiff and I'm like hell-to-the-no. The same goes for BDSM. I devoured those like they were candy a couple of years ago. Then last night, I went to reread one of my "favorites" and I had a hissy fit because the Alpha whooped his mate's ass without talking, without consent, and all I thought was, "Abuser! Run for the hills little mate!"

Reread: Sci-Fi

I'm getting the hint that my reading tastes are changing. It's happened in the past, so I'm not surprised. But it's been really hard to find something to read that I can sink my teeth in and spend hours immersed in someone else's playground. Broadening the search, I stepped outside M/M romance and began looking for some MMF. I found a couple of good ones but not great, if you know what I mean.Then Audible had their 50% off sale and I about bankrupted myself purchasing the audiobooks for books that I had already read. Yes. You read that correctly. The books I like to reread, I bought the audio version for because I was having trouble finding something to sink my teeth into. I did pick up a few new reads in both the gay and mainstream sections. Trying to find MMF audiobooks from my favorite authors was a big fat bust. There are less of those than there are of the gay & lesbian. Jerks.

Reread: Contemporary

I did purchase a couple of Het romances that I'd heard a lot of buzz about. Dystopia earth, strong women, alien alpha males. I thought, "Hey, that sounds like my cuppa." The sample of the narration was yummy and so I gave them a try and they reminded me why I chose to read, then write M/M. The alpha males attitudes on what a woman could and couldn't do or wear, and marrying them while they were unconscious wasn't endearing. It was creepy. The female leads were strong and self-efficient then the males came in that one moment of weakness to "save them" because "women needed to be protected". By the end, the women did change and molded to what the Alpha male wanted instead of saying, "Accept me as I am or I'm outa here buster." But they didn't. It all left me frustrated and confused because the book had such high ratings for both the ebook and the audio. I ended up reading three in the series because I wondered if the the style and type changed. Authors evolve over time, and that was what I was looking for. Besides the third book in the series was what I really wanted to read and it was the one that disappointed me the most.

Reread: Fantasy

Are all Het romances like that? Nope, and that is why I'll read more of them. Like anything else, I have to wade through the stories until I find a series that aligns with what type of characters I want to read about. It's no different from finding my reading footing again in gay romance. Not all of them have male leads with backgrounds of abuse, dub-con, or BDSM.Other than my reading woes, I've been working on my DRitC submission. Salvaging Toby's Heart came in at 33k. With the cover already completed, I sent it and the manuscript into MMR. Wow. The Mods and volunteers are so quick and efficient. They've checked and the cover to make sure everything was fine with it and they've assigned an editor to my story. They said 30 days for the entire process which is really quick. So sometime in June/July, depending where I fall in line with the other submissions, Salvaging Toby's Heart will go up on the MM Romance Group. It was such fun to write and I look forward to seeing what Eepa thinks of it.

I'm also expecting edits for Surrounded by Crimson which has a tentative release date of July 1st and the first rounds of edits for Ruby Red Booty Shorts & A Louisville Slugger. A release date for that hasn't been announced yet. So I see lots of editing in my future.With the completion of my DRitC story, I'm going back to Releasing Chaos, the last book in the Sumeria's Sons series. I think that I needed the break so the story could solidify in my mind. People say force your way through... yeah, that has never worked for me. So the last couple of days I've been going through and self-editing what I already have down to remind myself where I was at. I should be able to start adding word count by Friday. Then it will be a push to get as much of it done before edits do come in. ^_^

One last thing before I go. The giveaway for Unshakable is almost over. If you haven't entered yet, what are you waiting for?

About Me

Lexi has always been an avid reader and at a young age started reading (secretly) her mother’s romances (the ones she was told not to touch). She was the only teenager she knew of who would be grounded from reading. Later, with a pencil and a note book, she wrote her own stories and shared them with friends because she loved to see their reactions. A Texas transplant, Lexi now kicks her boots up in the Midwest with her Yankee husband and her 80 lbs. puppies named after vacuum cleaners.
Website: http://www.lexiander.com
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